Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker says when he takes office next month, he will make sure Illinoisans have actually affordable health care.
As part of a statewide “thank-you” tour after defeating incumbent Governor Bruce Rauner in the November election, Pritzker told Galesburg supporters Monday that will be one of his top priorities, and tells WGIL he can do it.
“The first thing we can do is allow people to buy into the state’s health insurance plan — which is a much lower-cost plan than a private health insurance plan,” says Pritzker. “People can get a break on what they’re paying for health insurance.”
Pritzker calls that a “public option” — but says he also wants to see people who don’t have and can’t afford health insurance also be able to buy in to the state’s plan.
Pritzker claims he won some counties in the November election that haven’t picked a Democrat for the state’s top office in a long time.
That’s why Pritzker says he went on what he calls a “thank-you tour,” including Galesburg. While city of Galesburg voters largely selected Pritzker, the majority of voters in the rest of the Knox County picked incumbent governor Bruce Rauner.
So how does Pritzker plan on winning those Rauner voters over?
“We’ll run a good government that’s going to be good for them,” says Pritzker. “I think that’s a reason for them to support us.”
Lieutenant Governor-elect Juliana Stratton agrees, and tells WGIL Republicans are a part of their transition team.
“When we look at our transition co-chairs, including Governor [Jim] Edgar, and others who are working on our budget and all of the other committees, we are making sure that we have the perspectives of not just Democrats, but also Republicans, people from the Chicago area, collar counties, and downstate Illinois.”
People commenting on WGIL’s Facebook page have largely said that they didn’t want to see Pritzker in town, and that he’s not going to do anything to help the city.
CLICK HERE to read more of those comments, and watch Facebook Live video of Pritzker’s appearance.
